


The Valkyrie Legacy Part 1: Thunderstruck

by TheDaneOfPain



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Angst, Arrows, Ax - Freeform, AxE, Betrayal, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fantasy, Fighter, Fighting, Help, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Magic, Marvel Universe, Minor Character Death, Modern Era, Mystic, Obsidian, Pre-Avengers (2012), Pre-Thor (2011), Retelling, Romance, SHIELD, Sorceresses, Spear, Superpowers, Swords, Swords & Sorcery, Warrior - Freeform, powers, wolf - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-18 01:14:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16985340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDaneOfPain/pseuds/TheDaneOfPain
Summary: Cadence and her family vowed never to return to Asgard, but when her family is killed during the Salem Witch Trials, she is sent back to Asgard to live with Odin and his family. Endowed with immeasurable power that she does not understand,  Cadence lives through the next few centuries, balancing her relationship with her betrothed, Loki, and fighting alongside her friend Thor. (Retelling of Thor and Avengers)





	1. How It All Began

**Author's Note:**

> *I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS EXCEPT CADENCE AND HER FAMILY, ALL OTHER RIGHTS GO TO MARVEL*  
> *This is a retelling of the first Thor movie and the Avengers with my OC*

Water rushed into my lungs washing away any air I had left, washing away any hope that I was going to survive this. At least I would be able to join my family in Valhalla, that's all I wanted, to be able to see my father again and hold my little sister one more time. I struggled against the ropes that bound me to the wooden chair, floating lazily in the river. My wrists were rubbed raw, tiny streams of blood rose around me. I was sinking fast, too fast. There were so many things I had wanted to do, and I had so much life left to live, all taken away with a sweep of the current. My body constricted, trying to fight the water invading my lungs, but I knew it was too late. I shut my eyes ready to succumb to my fate.  
I was tired of fighting, tired of trying, and I bowed my head, ready.  
_It's funny, no one ever thinks they will die a violent way, they always assume that it will be in a comfortable bed at the end of their life. I never thought about my death though, I thought it would be a long way from now, but I was wrong._  
I felt a tug on the leg of the chair I was tied to, and hope surged through me. Maybe my captors had a change of heart, maybe they were not afraid of me anymore, maybe they would accept me.  
My head burst out of the surface of the water, letting me take in a gasp of air. The cold winter wind struck my face, pushing a chill through my body. I glanced to the shore expecting to see Damen. He was the one that started all of this, he's the one that revealed what my family was to the town. I will regret telling him the rest of my life. I though it was love, I though he loved me, but every kiss, every touch was a lie. Damen never loved me, and I was just an idiot, an idiot in love.  
But when I looked to the shore I saw my grandmother. Relief washed over me, followed by shame.  
I had betrayed my entire family for him, because I thought that he would accept me, accept us, but I was wrong.  
My grandmother was swiftly pulling me to shore, I could see the powerful muscles in her biceps straining to bring me in. The chair washed up on the riverbed, and my grandmother rushed over to me, pulling off the ropes that bound me. I purged the water from my lungs, retching it out onto the sand. I felt my grandmother's hand on my back, softly rubbing.  
I looked up into her familiar face.  
Her blue eyes were rimmed with red and her usual tidy brown hair hung in snarls around her shoulders. She looked years older, but she looked relieved that I was okay. She doesn't look like my grandmother, and when we came to this town we said she was my aunt. Asgardians don't age the same as everyone else, especially ones that possess magic, a trait that I inherited among other things. Everyone tells us that we look alike, we have the same hair and eyes and even carry ourselves the same way. She brought my pregnant mother and me to Midguard after Hela destroyed all the Valkyries. My grandmother is the last surviving one, and I think it hurts her sometimes. She hasn't spoken a word since she left Asgard. Hela really hated my grandmother, and to hurt her, Hela killed my father, my grandmother's only son. My mother would never talk about it, the day we left, but I remember it. I remember screams echoing around us, people crying out for help and their loved ones, bodies strewn on the streets. I was only 2, but some things stay in your mind forever. We were supposed to start a new life on Midgard, and we have been living here for a while, well a few hundred years, and all those years we were careful, that was until we moved here, to Salem, Massachusetts. We moved here and everything was okay, my family wasn't the only one that was gifted. The normal people started asking questions and some of the town told them, told them that we could do things other people couldn't. At first they were nice about it, made a document that would identify what families were special and they said it was for their safety. That's when everything went wrong. One day a goat died, and a normal blamed a special and suddenly it was us vs. them. My family didn't sign it, we thought it would be safer to remain anonymous. But I was the idiot that fell for the preacher's son. I didn't know that he would tell his father, I didn't know they would come for my family so quickly.  
I stood up to my feet and looked around me. None of the townspeople remained, they had left me to die and that was it. My grandmother looked at me with sad eyes, eyes that had seen so much, eyes filled with pain. She took my hand in hers and led me towards our home, quietly ducking behind the trees, staying out of sight.  
We arrived at our home quickly, and it wasn't hard to find at all. The smell of burning attracted us to the house we once called home. My mother had chosen this spot because it was a little bit out of town, where no one would find us, no one would see something they weren't supposed to. They wouldn't see my mother lift something that was too heavy to be lifted by one woman, they wouldn't see my little sisters levitating objects inside the house, and they wouldn't see me and my grandmother fighting with swords as big as we were. I looked to the right of the once well kept house and saw the pyre clearly. It was still smoking, sending ash and smoke into the air, like it was the most normal thing in the world. The birds were swarming what was left of my family. My little sister was only 6, another bad relationship on my mother's part, and they had still burned her alive, feeling no remorse. That's when I lost it. Huge tears rolled down my face, and sobs wracked through my body.  
What have I done?  
I don't know why they wanted to drown me instead, maybe I was to be killed alone, because that is what I feared the most.  
I wondered if Damen was happy now, if he was proud of what he had done. Anger blazed through me at the thought of him being happy.  
My grandmother touched my shoulder softly, and moved me towards the house once more.  
We had to get out of here now, before the raiders came to take what was ours. She rushed through the door and up the stairs quickly, moving with purpose. I dawdled behind her, stuck in my own head. I slowly made my way to my room, and stopped. My room door was open, and I was sure that I had left it closed this morning. I took in a deep breath and kicked open the door.  
Damen was standing with his back to me going through my stuff.  
"Haven't you taken enough from me!" I shouted at him, grabbing his shoulder and turning him to face me.  
He screamed loudly and jumped away from me. "You," He stuttered raising a finger and pointing it at me. "You are supposed to be dead! Demon!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.  
"If anybody else is going to die today, it's going to be you!" I roared.  
He backed up against the wall, fear flashing in his eyes.  
"Now Damen, did thou even love me? Did you even care for me?" I said softly.  
"No," He spat. "How could I ever love you? You are a witch, an abomination."  
"I am not a witch." I countered.  
"Yes thou are! A witch, a demon, a mystic!" He shouted louder.  
I smiled at his jeer. "Mystic, I like that." I mumbled under my breath to myself.  
"And my father will destroy thou!" He spat. "Just like he killed your family."  
"You killed my family Damen, not your father! You need to realize that!"  
"No my father did this." Damen responded.  
"No Damen he didn't." I yelled. I could hear my grandmother on the stairs, she was quickly coming towards me. "You did this! You told your dad everything about me! I thought you loved me Damen, I thought-" My voice broke as anger and pain flashed through my body.  
"How could I ever love you?" He spat, his face red.  
My grandmother was suddenly in the doorway, clutching a giant sword. It wasn't like any sword I had ever seen. It seemed to glow in the shadows, and it was almost as big as her.  
"Stay the hell away from me demon!" Damen shouted backing away until his back hit the wall.  
My grandmother was staring at him coldly, her grip on her sword tightening. She took a step into the room slowly deliberately, raising her sword in front of her expertly.  
Damen tried to shrink back, but there was no place to go, no place to hide. "Do what you want to me, but nothing can save you demons. You will perish, my father will destroy you."  
"Let them come, we will destroy them too." I rasped, a sneer on my face.  
Her sword slashed cutting down Damen where he stood.  
And I felt nothing.  
I stepped around his body and grabbed my bag from the small cubby where I stored my clothes. I grabbed everything I could, shoving into the knapsack that I threw onto my shoulder. I turned to face my grandmother, she was still holding the sword. It was still glowing, almost hypnotic in the dark of my room.  
"Grandmother we have to go, we have to keep moving." I said solemnly. But she only stood there absorbed in her thoughts, and I wondered what she saw.  
I placed my hand on her arm, and her eyes shot to mine.  
She pressed the hilt of the sword into my hands, and as she did it began to shrink slowly, getting smaller and smaller until it became a small silver bracelet that wrapped around my wrist.  
"What the-" I stammered, touching the bracelet. It seemed to get warmer against my skin as I touched it.  
Sword. I thought to myself and suddenly it lengthened into the sword I once saw. I examined it running my finger across the edge of the blade.  
Too bad it's a sword, I'm more of an ax person.  
Suddenly the sword shifted in my hand becoming a giant ax.  
"What the hell?" I shouted, holding the ax in my hand. I looked up at my grandmother, she had a small smile on her face.  
"Was this your sword when you were a Valkyrie?" I asked her, getting out of town suddenly forgotten.  
She nodded and smiled. She then pointed at me.  
"You want me to have it? Why?" I said suddenly suspicious. The sun was going down quickly, darkness blanketing the room.  
A dark look crossed over her face.  
"Grandmother why are you giving this to me?" I pleaded.  
That's when the screaming started. I saw in the shadows of the trees, people begin to filter out waving pitchforks and rope, torches glowing brightly in the night.  
The ax grew heavy in my hand, and I swallowed  
My grandmother reached out and grabbed my arm pulling me from the house, and running into the woods.  
Branches truck me across the face, drawing blood. We wove in and out of the trees, but the townspeople were right on our heels, I could practically feel the heat from their torches against my skin.  
Finally the woods opened up and deposited us on a cliff.  
And I knew we weren't going to escape this.  
I turned around slowly, ready to face my death.  
"You killed my son, and for that thou shall pay!" Damen's father yelled. His long grey beard swishing in the breeze, coming from the cliffs.  
"Your son was a demon and deserved to die." I spat, raising the ax in front of me, ready to attack. The ground around me trembled and cracked beneath my feet.  
My grandmother's grip on me turned hard and I looked up into her eyes. Love flickered in them, plus a thousand other emotions I couldn't identify. She shook her head slowly, as if to say that there was no way.  
I opened my mouth to speak, but in one fluid motion my grandmother threw me backwards off the cliff.  
A scream ripped from my throat, echoing off the cliff wall. The ocean was approaching quickly and I closed my eyes ready for impact.  
But for the first time in hundreds of years my grandmother spoke.  
"Heimdall open the Bifrost!"' She screamed.  
And my world was suddenly absorbed in white light.


	2. New Home

I woke up in a field, laying in the tall grass. It brushed against my bare arms, and through my clothes. Above me the sun was high in the sky illuminating the field. I sat up slowly, holding my head. Memories scorched through my mind like a wild fire. Yet another cliff sat to my left on the edge of my vision, dark and ominous on the horizon.  
_Is this what being dead feels like?_  
I looked to my right and saw my grandmother standing a few feet away, her beautiful brown hair falling in loose wave over her was wearing her full battle armor, something that I had only seen once, the day we left Asgard. She opened her arms wide to me, and smiled widely. I rose swiftly and threw myself into her embrace, her arms wrapping around me, comforting me. Hot tears ran down my face, running into her long hair.  
"Cadence we don't have much time." My grandmother murmured into my hair.  
I looked up at her, shocked that she had spoken.  
"Are we dead?" I asked her pulling away from her.  
She pursed her lips together, and didn't say anything.  
Dread flashed through me.  
"Cadence, you are not dead. I had to make a hard decision and you need to understand what happens next." She pleaded putting her hands on my shoulders, shaking me.  
I nodded slowly, and tried to focus on what she was saying.  
"I am sending you back to Asgard. But there are things that are going to happen that you will not understand." She swallowed. "I'm sorry that we didn't have enough time, I should have told you. I should have prepared you." Her voice broke.  
"Wait, you are sending me back to Asgard?" I asked her. We hadn't been back in years, we had no idea what was happening there.  
"Yes, but you need to understand that knowledge is power, and those things about Hela, they happened so long ago, and Odin took precautions to make the people of Asgard safe. You will be the only one who remembers her, and you can't reveal that to anyone"  
At the sound of her name, the sun seemed to dim a little and the wind picked up, whipping my hair into my face.  
"How do you know?" I questioned her. "We haven't had contact with anyone in Asgard in years, how do you know what happened?"  
"I've seen it." She said quietly.  
"You've seen it?" A tremor shook the ground beneath our feet.  
My grandmother's eyes shot up to look around us, almost as if she was looking for someone. Her gaze dropped quickly back to me.  
"Cadence listen to me. You have great power, and you won't understand it at first, but you will be able to control it some day." Her voice broke once more. "I just wish I could have been there to see it." Tears formed in the corner of her eyes, and began to fall quickly down her face.  
"Grandmother, I don't understand." I choked out, through my own tears.  
"I don't expect you to, but one day you will understand." She whispered, her face solemn. Another tremor shook the earth, this one made me stumble a little bit.  
"She is here." I heard my grandmother murmur. Her gaze shot to the treeline behind us.  
"Who is here?" I asked.  
"Remember that I love you, and don't forget that I will always love you. Never be afraid of your power, and let Obsidian guide you." As she spoke those words, the glowing sword appeared in her hands once more.  
"Wait, what's happening?" I shouted, confusion and fear flying through my veins.  
"Cadence, Obsidian is your now. I give you it's legacy and I bestow my powers on you." As she spoke these words, I began to glow and pain spread through me. I dropped to my knees, but all at once the pain stopped, and I felt stronger than I ever had.  
_What the hell is happening?_  
My grandmother helped me off the ground, handing me the giant sword. "You are stronger than anyone I know, always remember that I'm looking out for you." She brushed a stray hair from my face.  
"Grandmother don't leave me." I cried out. "I don't want to be alone."  
"You will never be alone. I will always be with you." She replied, pulling me against her one more time.  
Her arms suddenly tightened on me, and as I looked up into her face, I saw that she was focused on the trees behind us, anger flashing in her eyes, and I turned to look behind us.  
A woman stepped from the shadows of the treeline. She was gaunt and pale, dressed in all black. As she walked towards us the plants around her died, turning black and crisp in her wake. A sickening smile marred her beautiful face.  
"Hello Eirin." She drawled out.  
"Hela." My grandmother growled out.  
Fear closed around my throat.  
"I've been waiting for you." Hela replied. Her eyes rose to me. "Is this your grandaughter? Well she grew into a beauty didn't she?"  
My grandmother pushed me behind her. "She is none of your concern Hela."  
"Then again of course she turned into a beauty, her father was quite something." Hela jeered, a sick glint in her eye.  
My jaw tightened.  
"How dare you speak of my son!" My grandmother roared.  
"Oh, must be a sore spot. The person you loved the most you couldn't save, and actually a few people you loved you couldn't save. I welcomed them here just as I will welcome you." Hela taunted, a smirk raising one side of her lips. She raised her hands out in a mocking hug.  
My grandmother was on her in the minute, rising off the ground flying towards Hela swiftly. Hela raised her hand easily and caught my grandmother around the throat.  
"You have no power here Eirin, but I am glad we finally got to talk this through." Hela said, squeezing her throat tightly.  
A cry ripped through my throat and I charged Hela, sword raised above my head. For once in my life, not afraid of death.  
My grandmother made eye contact with me, and waved her hand pushing me backward, off the cliff behind me, sending me into oblivion.  
************************************************************************************************************************************************** I jolted awake on a cold marble floor. Above me the ceiling swirled in golden symbols, never stopping. I sat up slowly, my head still pounding. The room was circular, and was made of gold, more gold than I had ever seen in my lifetime. I stood up shakily, and realized that I was wearing my grandmother's battle armor. Obsidian was sheathed across my back, a giant formidable sword, but it made me feel better to have a weapon in a strange place. A man stood stoic in the center of the room, his giant golden sword sheathed in a pedestal rising from the ground.  
His eyes followed my every move, trying to decide if I was a threat.  
A giant opening in the wall behind him, displayed a beautiful golden city. And I remembered where I was, Asgard.  
I took in a deep breath, and tried to not let the memories of the past define what I thought of the city now.  
"So you are the daughter of Astrid and Kain?" The man in the room asked, his voice echoing throughout the large room. "The granddaughter of Eirin the Commander of the Valkyries?"  
"Yes, I am, and who are you?" I said, a lot more confidently than I felt.  
He nodded once, and removed his sword from the pedestal, and hoisted it on his shoulder.  
"I am Heimdall, the gatekeeper of the Bifrost." He said his bright gold eyes watching me.  
"Follow me Cadence." He said over his shoulder as he turned to walk towards the golden city.  
_How did he know my name? How does he know my family?_  
"I know all and see all." He said calmly.  
_Well that tells me nothing..._  
As we walked a heavy silence settled over us.  
"I am truly sorry about your loss." He said, breaking the silence.  
I swallowed. "Thank you."  
"Your grandmother was a brave woman. Not many people would make the sacrifice she did." He continued.  
"You knew her?" I asked. My eyes drifted to the bridge beneath us, flashing with every color of the rainbow. Asgard lay before us, more beautiful than I remembered.  
"Yes I did, a very long time ago, we were friends." He murmured.  
I didn't say anything. I couldn't say anything. I thought I knew everything about my grandmother, but I knew nothing.  
We walked through the winding city, and those we passed stared at me and whispered to each other. Obsidian slipped out of the sheath on my back and shifted into a silver circlet, moving around my head, holding my hair out of my face. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. I had forgotten how many people there were in Asgard.  
Heimdall ignored their stares and continued to walk towards the palace in front of us. It rose so high in the sky it, hurt to look up to see the end of it.  
We arrived at the massive doors, guards stood on both sides, trying to look as intimidating as they could.  
I took a deep breath, and tried to focus on calming my nerves.  
Heimdall nodded at one of the guards, and the giant doors opened in front of us. As soon as we stepped through the doorway, a gasp slipped from my mouth. The throne room was huge, bigger than any room I had ever seen. Gold plated the walls and giant columns that seemed to go on for miles.  
In the giant throne in front of us sat Odin. I remembered seeing him more than once in my childhood, because of my grandmother. She would have to leave often to discuss battle strategies and plans, and some days my grandmother would take me with her. I was too young to be left alone and I remember Odin laughing as I sat and watched them plan for the coming war. He used to say that I was the next generation of Valkyrie.  
Now as I stood before him, I was afraid. Afraid that he would kill me for what I knew, afraid that he would hate me for what had happened.  
"Cadence." Odin's voice boomed across the throne room. Frigga stood to his side, a wide smile on her face.  
"Yes, my king." I said bowing low before the throne.  
"It has been too long." I heard Odin respond. My gaze was still fixed on the floor.  
I felt a strong hand on my shoulder, and I looked up into Odin's blue eye.  
"I am sorry, for what has happened, but please walk with me." He requested, helping me to my feet.  
I grasped his elbow and he lead me out of the room, out onto the open walk way.  
"How much do you remember?" He asked me suddenly.  
I was suddenly reminded of my grandmother's warning.  
"Only bits and pieces, sir. I just remember having to leave suddenly, in the night." I replied softly.  
The birds sang and swooped in and out of the eaves above us. It was nice to be back in Asgard, a feeling of calm settled over me.  
"Yes, I'm sorry for what your family had to go through. But do not worry, you won't be troubled for much longer." He said quickly, turning to me.  
He placed his hand against my forehead and everything went dark.  
************************************************************************************************************************************************** I woke in a soft bed, softer than anything I had ever felt in my life. I opened my eyes and saw sunlight, filtering through the open doors on the right of the room that led out to the balcony.  
_Why am I here?_  
The door opened and Odin stepped through the door.  
I started to rise from the bed, but Odin held out one hand to stop me.  
"How are you feeling Cadence?" He asked me.  
"I feel much better, but how did I get here?" I asked running one of my hands down the covers in front of me.  
A dark look crossed Odin's face.  
"Heimdall carried you here Cadence. Your grandmother sent you here. Do you remember?" He inquired, sitting down on the edge of the bed.  
Memories of Midguard flashed in my head, and everything came back to me. Loss rolled through me in waves, but why was my family on Midguard.  
"Why was my family on Midguard?" I looked up into Odin's face.  
"Well your family immigrated there to start a new life. They wanted to see what it was like, but I'm sorry it turned out this way." He responded solemnly.  
I didn't say anything.  
The breeze picked up, ruffling my hair.  
"The Midgardians do not respect people who are different. I warned your grandmother not to take you there, but she did not listen. When your father died in that accident, I believe she wanted to get away for a little bit." He continued. "But at least we were able to rescue you Cadence. Now why don't you come downstairs for some breakfast? You look like you could use a good meal."  
I nodded slowly. He rose to his feet and glided over to the door.  
I rolled out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom. I stripped the clothes from my body and walked into the large shower. The warm water felt good on my skin, curing my body of its aches. When I walked out of the bathroom, a long green dress waited for me on my bed.  
I grumbled under my breath.  
_I hate dresses._  
I slipped it on over my head and tied my hair up into a tight braid. Obsidian was on my wrist swirling around like a snake, waiting, almost like it was antsy. I left the room, walking slowly in what I hoped was the right direction. There was a guy who looked about my age sitting at the edge of the hallway. His black hair was slicked back on his head, and he was pressed up against the wall reading.  
"Good book?" I said smiling.  
He jumped, obviously scared that I had caught him. His bright green eyes, made my breath catch.  
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you." I stuttered out, suddenly embarrassed.  
A smile worked its way across his face.  
"No it's okay. I was just really absorbed in the book. It is really good." He said smiling wider.  
I nodded and started to walk past him.  
"Hey wait!" He shouted standing up and trying to catch up to me. I stopped so we could walk side by side.  
"You're Cadence right?" He asked me, his eyes seemed to grow brighter.  
"Yes, but I would prefer you called me Cade."  
"I'm Loki."  
"It's nice to meet you." I said returning his smile. "Do you know where the kitchen is? I'm starving."  
He chuckled lightly. "It's actually that way." He responded pointing behind us.  
I stopped walking and turned around slowly. "Of course it is." I sighed heavily.  
"It's okay I will show you were it is. Maybe we can eat together." He said.  
"That sounds nice."  
"Well then, this way Madam." He bowed and offered me his hand.  
I laughed and grabbed it tightly. "Thank you."  
"Anytime." He declared.  
_I wasn't afraid of what the future would bring, but it was the past that I had forgotten._


	3. Allies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Telepathic**   
>  _Internal Monologue_

After breakfast Loki showed me around the Palace. The wind blew through the open patio that we were walking through, ruffling the bottom of my dress.  
_Why did you wear this dress?_  
"So, you don't like dresses?" Loki said smirking at me.  
"Did you just read my mind?" I raised an eyebrow and pretended to be mad.  
"No. I didn't. I just-," He stuttered out, his face growing red.  
_And it was incredibly cute._  
"You just what?" I asked turning around and looking up into his face. His shocking green eyes, shone in the light of the sun, and it took everything I had to not brush away the small cluster of raven colored hair that had fallen into his face.  
"I meant to say, you look nice in green." He muttered looking down at the ground.  
I felt a blush creep into my cheeks. I reached out and placed my index finger under his chin, lifting his face to look at me.  
"You don't look too bad in green either." I breathed, smiling widely at him.  
His face turned an even brighter red, and I loved it.  
I withdrew my hand slowly from his chin, but as I did he grasped it in his own hand holding it softly like it was something precious.  
He pulled me forward through the open hallways of the palace, never letting go of my hand, and I never wanted him to let go.  
"Loki!" I heard a voice shout and turned to look to the left. There was a training space, big and open, swords, shields, spears, and other weapons laid in shelves on the edges. In the middle of the semi circle a muscular guy with long blond hair stood, a huge hammer held tightly in his hand. He smiled widely at Loki, but then focused on the opponent in front of him. His opponent was at least twice his size, and height, but the blond didn't seem fazed at all.  
"Who is that?" I asked Loki, not letting go of his hand.  
"That is Thor." Loki said through pursed lips. It was like his entire mood had changed, he wasn't smiling at all or blushing. He was just watching Thor coldly.  
Thor dropped his hammer into the sand of the arena and faced off against his opponent, amazingly lithe for someone so muscular. His opponent threw a punch catching Thor in the jaw, cracking open the skin. He staggered back a steps and put one of his hands to his face and touched the cut, pulling back his hand to look at the small trace of blood on it. He laughed loudly and punched his huge opponent. Thor's punch sent his opponent hurtling through the air, and into the large columns surrounding the perimeter.  
"I told you that no one can defeat me, Volstagg not even you!" Thor bellowed happily. He turned focusing his attention on Loki and me, walking smoothly over to us.  
"You must be Cadence. My father told me that we had a visitor from Midgard. It is wonderful to meet you, and I am sorry about your loss." Thor said taking my hand and kissing it.  
I felt Loki stiffen next to me.  
"Thank you, and I actually prefer Cade." I replied smiling, as I removed my hand from Thor's grasp slowly.  
"Did you enjoy the show?" He said smiling, motioning behind him at Volstagg who was rising from the pillar slowly, his red hair billowing out on the dirt around him.  
I shrugged casually. "It honestly wasn't much of a show"  
Loki chuckled under his breath. Thor's grin widened.  
"And what would be a show to you?" He challenged, a mysterious glint in his eyes.  
"Oh you'll find out." I teased him, smiling.  
The wind seemed to pick up in the clearing, lifting my dress a few inches.  
**"Don't do this Cade."** I heard Loki's voice whisper in my head.  
I smiled at him, and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. **"I know what I'm doing, don't worry."** I thought back to him. Another dark look crossed his face.  
I let go of Loki's hand reluctantly, and took a step past Thor into the sand in the arena. I turned to face Thor and let Obsidian shift into a axe in my hand.  
"Care to join me?" I taunted him, letting a smirk cross my face.  
Thor's threw back his head and let laughter roar out of his mouth. "You're going to fight me in a dress, Cadence?" He scoffed, refusing to use my nickname.  
"Absolutely. You don't have a problem with that do you, Goldilocks?" I asked him casually.  
He only laughed in response and moved into the sand opposite me.  
I glanced over at Loki. He was leaning against one of the concrete pillars, watching us intently. I took a voluntary step forward, and realized how ridiculous I was being.  
I held up my hand. "Give me one second," I said to Thor, dropping Obsidian to my knees and cutting through the silk of the dress. The ends hung in tatters against my knees, so I probably didn't look my best.  
_Oh well, at least I can move._  
"Let's do this." I said confidently, staring up into the face of Thor. He was at least two heads taller than me, I had never been the tallest person in the world, but I liked it. I liked to let my opponents underestimate me.  
His hammer flew into his hand, electricity crackled in the air.  
"Are you sure you want to do this little one?" He asked me, a large smile splitting his face.  
"Absolutely." I replied calmly, not letting the smile leave my face.  
"You know what? I'll let you use the axe, but I'll put Mjolnir away." The wind picked up once more, ruffling his hair enough to let it catch the light, making it turn the color of wheat. He dropped his hammer into the sand, where it sat with the handle sticking upright in the air.  
I looked back to the edge of the arena and in the shadows, a woman about my age with dark brown hair stood, frowning. If looks could kill I would be dead, she had a sword in her hand, the edge of it rested on the sidewalk, but every once in a while the light would catch it, sending a flash of sunlight into my eyes. She was obviously jealous, I chuckled under my breath and turned my attention back to Thor. He was waiting for me to make the first move.  
"Oh are you waiting on me? What a gentleman." I exclaimed letting a bit of sarcasm into my voice. I dropped Obsidian into the sand next to me, the blade slicing deep into the earth under our feet.  
"I don't need a axe to beat you Thor." I said bending my knees and raising my hands in front of me.  
He chuckled low under his breath, his blue eyes turning a stormy grey.  
His attack came swiftly from the right, but I ducked under his arm and twisted so that I was standing behind him. I threw a kick at his exposed back, and I made contact with it, pushing him onto the sand. He rolled over on his back, and kicked himself back up, so that he was facing me once again.  
"Not too bad." He mused, shifting from foot to foot.  
"Eh, I do okay." I muttered, not taking my eyes off of him.  
He tossed a look at the girl in he shadows, and shrugged. His eyes came back to mine, and he flashed another confident smile.  
_He still wasn't worried, that's cute._  
I flashed forward, my right hand outstretched, Thor raised his hand to catch my fist, but at the last minute I pulled back and ducked towards his muscular chest, my fist slamming into his abdomen. The force of my punch propelled him backward into the cement pillars behind him. A nasty crack rang through the open arena as he smacked into the pillar. I could see the crack of the pillar running down the side, like a spine. Thor wasn't moving, and for a split second I thought he was dead, but then he groaned loudly.  
Volstagg threw his head back and laughed loudly. "You are the first one to ever best Thor in combat!" He boomed, as he slapped his hand on my back. I jolted forward a few steps, but smiled nonetheless.  
Thor got to his feet steadily, a sheepish smile on his face. "You may be little, but you pack the punch of a thousand men." He said laughing. He turned to face the girl in the shadows. "She might be a better warrior than you Sif!"  
A dark look crossed over her face, and she stomped away towards the city, grumbling under her breath.  
'I wonder why she is so upset." Thor mumbled, as he stared after her.  
"She is probably just jealous that Cade beat you when Sif has been trying for the past 100 years." Volstagg said happliy. "But let's go celebrate, drinks on my friend." He bellowed, patting Thor on the back.  
"Fine. I guess I deserve that." He grumbled, but let a smile work it's way across his face. He called Mjolnir to his hand and began to walk towards the palace with Volstagg close behind him.  
I made eye contact with Loki, who winked and gave me an encouraging smile.  
I felt something in my stomach flip flop, and I suddenly wasn't worried about staying here. I pulled Obsidian from the earth, it became like water wrapping around my hand, and up my arm forming an intricate circlet around my head.  
"Well, that was impressive." Loki's voice washed through my head like silver.  
"I was trained by the best."I replied modestly, walking over to the pillar he was leaning against.  
"That much is obvious." He muttered, taking my hand in his. Warmth spread through my body when our hands touched.  
"Cadence, Loki, come on let's go!" Thor bellowed from a good waze down the hallway.  
Loki sighed.  
"We don't have to go if you don't want to." I whispered to him, my hand finding his cheek.  
"No. It's okay. I just don't like crowds that much." He mumbled, his eyes glancing towards where Thor had gone.  
"I promise that I will hold your hand the entire night if I have to." I replied confidently, making him blush.  
"Promise?" He whispered moving his face closer to mine.  
His breath washed over my face, and I looked at his lips, which were only an inch away from mine.  
I raised my eyes to his eyes that had turned a dark emerald color, and before I could stop myself I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his softly.  
I pulled back suddenly embarrassed by what I had done. We had only met today and maybe this was a bad idea to make someone who was obviously my friend something more. But before I could open my mouth to apologize, his lips were against mine once again, pulling me into a searing kiss that made the world disappear around me.  
_And that was the beginning of the end._


	4. The Coronation

#### Present Day... 318 Earth Years Later

The sunlight streamed through the open windows, the curtains fluttering in the slight breeze that blew across the eastern mountains. Asgard lay out under the palace, glowing in the sun like a jewel. The bed underneath me was warm and soft, and I never wanted to leave it.  
"Cade." I heard Loki whisper sleepily. "Cade are you asleep?"  
"Yes," I mumbled into my pillow.  
He chuckled. The bed shifted with his every movement. I felt one of his arms encircle my waist, pulling my back square against his chest. He buried his face into my brown hair, which was wild and untamed, fanning out over the pillows like an angry cloud. Proof of our midnight rendezvous. He didn't seem to mind.  
"Cade..." He hummed into my hair.  
"Still, asleep." I said giggling.  
"Oh really?"  
He moved his face out of my hair, to my shoulder, and began to kiss it, his stubble tickling me.  
I laughed into my pillow. Suddenly he began ticking me ferociously.  
"No, no stop it! Stop it!" I screamed, laughing and writhing on the bed. Turning over so that I was on my back, with Loki hovering over me.  
"Oh so now you're awake?" He asked me giving me the smirk that I loved so much.  
He had my wrists pinned over my head. I rolled my eyes. He moved closer to me pressing his chest against mine.  
"Yes I suppose so." I whispered.  
"It's about time." He said smiling, his eyes ablaze with mirth.  
"Well, I did have a late night, and you know how I need my beauty sleep." I drawled. My lips rising into a smirk.  
A low moan rose from his chest and escaped from his lips. I kissed the tip of his nose softly.  
"Good morning." I breathed.  
"Good morning." He replied, his warm breath washing over my face.  
He leaned down and captured my lips in a passionate kiss, releasing my wrists.  
I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling his body closer to me. His hands moved down my body caressing my hips when-  
**knock, knock, knock**  
I froze my hands, wildly grasping Loki's hair. He turned his head and looked lazily at the door.  
"Who is it?" He asked raising his voice.  
We heard somebody clear their voice on the other side of the door.  
"It's Alaric your highness. I'm just here to remind you that the coronation will begin in 45 minutes." The voice said.  
Loki rolled his eyes and sighed.  
"I'll be ready in a little bit." Loki said turning back to me. He began to kiss my exposed neck.  
I heard Alaric cough awkwardly.  
"Perhaps you are ready, but I doubt that Lady Cade is." I heard Alaric say.  
Loki started laughing, shaking the bed. I felt myself blush deep red, from the tips of my feet, to the roots of my hair.  
"Thanks Alaric!" Loki shouted, a wide smirk on his face.  
I slapped him hard on the shoulder, which made him only laugh harder.  
I rolled my eyes, and began untangling myself from his grasp. I stood up from the bed and stretched, all of my bones cracking in the right places, enjoying the sensation.  
I stood up from the bed, my nightgown swishing around my knees, and turned back to look at Loki. He was sitting up in bed, his arms propping him up. His bare chest was glinting in the sun. He was watching me intently, a lazy smile on his lips.  
I felt myself blush again.  
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked him.  
"Like what?"  
"Like the cat that are the canary."  
"I'm just really happy. Can't I be happy?" He asked me smirking.  
"No," I said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes.  
"Okay I have to go get ready for the coronation."  
A dark look flashed across his face.  
"What's wrong?" I asked him. I walked over to him and sat on the bed beside him.  
"It's nothing, I just..." He paused and looked away from me.  
I placed one of my hands on the side of his face, and slowly pulled his face towards mine again.  
"I'm fine." He mumbled, placing his right hand over mine on the side of his face.  
"I know that you are upset because of Thor becoming king but..." I sighed.  
"Cade, I'm fine." He said softly.  
"No. I don't think that you are. You can't trick me like the others, you know that. You can't hide things from me." I said smiling, moving closer to him so our shoulders were touching.  
"I can always try to." He said smirking.  
I laughed and laid my head on his shoulder. "You can try, but it won't work."  
He sighed. "That's debatable." He argued, a sly smile on his face.  
He chuckled and began stroking my back. His mouth was on my shoulder, his other hand slowly encircling my waist, trying to pull me back into the bed.  
"Hey, watch it silver tongue. We both still need to get ready for the coronation. If I'm not ready in time, your mother will kill me, and you for that manner." I said trying to get up from the bed."  
"Just five more minutes." He whined smiling.  
I laughed. "No, come on. It's time to get up."  
"Ugh, fine!" He moaned throwing off the covers. I kissed him one last time, and winked at him, before teleporting back to my room.  
*************************************************************************************************************************************  
I barely slept in my room anymore, when I did nightmares of my last day on Midgard would plague me. I could still remember the bodies of my sisters burning, still remember their screams for help, as they dragged me away to the river. When I slept with Loki in his room, I didn't have nightmares. He could always sense when I had bad dreams, sometimes he would have to shake me awake, but he was always there to wipe away my tears.  
When I appeared back in my room, Echo woke up from the corner. He yawned opening his mouth wide, flashing his fangs and shaking out his silvery fur. Getting slowly to his feet he padded over to me almost silently, and pressed his large furry body up against my waist.  
I had rescued Echo from Jotunheim, on a quick trip that was supposed to be peaceful, but turned into a fight. Odin had brought me along with him to help him discuss the ever crumbling peace treaty he had with Laufey. Odin allowed me to come with him on trips outside of Asgard, because he knew what a good fighter I was, and if I was going to train the next generation of Valkyrie, I needed as much experience as I could get. As we were leaving I heard a wolf howling in the distance, crying for help. I found Echo, just a pup, alone with his foot caught in a trap. It took an hour of coaxing the rabid wolf into letting me help it, but ever since then Echo hasn't left my side.  
I reached down and scratched him behind his ears. He made a low sound in his chest almost a purr, and pressed himself into me harder, almost knocking me over.  
"Whoa Echo. You're not a puppy anymore." I said to him, scratching him harder. His bright blue eyes met mine, a mischevious look passing through them.  
"Don't even think about it." I warned him, but it was too late.  
He jumped up placing his giant paws against my chest and knocked me backwards into my bed.  
"Echo!" I shouted pretending to be angry. His tongue came down and licked the full length of my face, leaving a trail of saliva.  
"Ew!" I squealed trying to push him off of me. He gave me a wolfy grin and laid his head down on my stomach.  
"Echo I really have to get ready for the coronation, so can you please let me get up?"  
He let out a sigh and got up silently, sitting at the foot of my bed.  
I sat up and spotted dark green dress on the back of my door, it was hanging there taunting me. My lip curled up in disgust.  
 _Did I say that I hate dresses?_  
Frigga made sure that I knew to wear a dress, she even spent a whole day with me and the royal dressmaker. Which made me feel like a giant pin cushion, but it was nice I guess. I never really got to have times like that with my mom, she was never the same after my dad's accident, she didn't really smile anymore after that.  
I shook my head to get rid of the memory and tried to focus on positive things. This was a big day, one of my best friends was becoming king.  
 _Honestly, dresses are so pointless when you are fighting. The corsets are so tight that I can't breathe let alone strike an opponent down, and dresses are so long that they become a hazard when fighting because an opponent could grab you by it. Then again I did beat Thor in a dress the first day we met, however long ago that was. Sif has been rubbing it in the past few days that she doesn't have to wear a dress. Ever since I got here she has been a total bitch to me, always making snarky comments under her breath._  
I feel bad for her. She keeps trying to get Thor's attention, but he will never see her as more than a friend.  
 _Oh well, maybe she deserves it..._  
I got up and flounced into the bathroom to take a quick shower. The warm water ran down my body, relaxing any tension I still had about today. As I dried off , uneasiness crept over me, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.  
I slipped the corset on over my head and used my telekinesis to tighten it. I raised my arms straight up over my head and grabbed the dark green dress telekinetically pulling it on.  
Obsidian was writhing around my wrist like a snake, I placed my hand on the cool metal to calm it against my skin.  
As I looked in the mirror to examine myself, I heard a knock at my door.  
"Coming," I shouted as I crossed the room.  
I opened the door slowly. Frigga stood there in a gorgeous golden gown that made her look like she was gliding across the floor.  
"Your majesty." I said bowing slightly.  
"Oh please, Cadence you don't need to bow." She said as she gliding into the room.  
Echo stood up at full attention, and began to wag his tail as he saw Frigga. She walked over and scratched him right under his chin. He opened his mouth and let his tongue roll out, smiling at the sensation.  
Frigga laughed, and continued to pet him.  
She turned to look at me again. "That dress is so beautiful on you, but your hair is wild right now." She complimented me.  
Her hands came up into my damp hair and began to weave it into an intricate large braid that fell down my back. Obsidian slithered up my arm and into my hair to form a small circlet around my head. A hum went through the metal, no doubt trying to calm my nerves.  
 _I'm great in battle, but in a room full of people that are all looking at me not so much._  
Frigga's hand came under my chin so that I was looking up into her face. "You are so beautiful. Your grandmother would be so proud of you."  
"Thank you." I whispered, smiling shyly at her.  
She looped her arm in mine. "Let's get going. We don't want the coronation to start without the queen."  
And with that she led me out the door.  
**************************************************************************************************************  
When we arrived, Frigga was immediately whisked away to walk down the aisle. I was to walk down the aisle solo, no doubt as a last minute form of punishment from Thor himself. He loved making me uncomfortable, and yet he was my best friend.  
"Cadence." I heard someone bellow my name. I turned slowly and spotted Thor jogging up, his red cape swirling behind him.  
"Thor." I said smiling.  
"Well don't you look nice." He complimented.  
I rolled my eyes at his candidness. "Wow, flirting with your brother's betrothed, tsk, tsk." I teased him.  
Thor blushed for a second, his face becoming the same color as his cape. He took another step towards me. "Trust me Cadence, if I liked you, you wouldn't know." His eyes met mine, and a look crossed through them that I had never seen before.  
I opened my mouth to speak, but at that moment a squire came and pulled me away towards the giant doorway leading to the ceremony.  
My breath caught in my throat as I was thrown in front of the hoard of people in the throne room. Everyone was smiling and clapping at me, but my knees went weak.  
 _Come on Cadence, you can do this! It's just like being in a fight except people don't want to kill you. Relax._  
I took a deep breath and began the trek down the aisle towards the ornate golden throne, where Odin sat stoic staring at me. Loki looked up at me from where he was standing at the right of Odin's throne, and I caught his eye. His mouth dropped open as he looked at me, his eyes taking in what I was wearing.  
 **"Cade, you look, you look so-"** He stuttered through my head.  
I blushed, feeling the pink creep into my cheeks.  
 **"Is it possible that I made the great Loki speechless? Miracles do happen."** I told him, a smirk spreading on my face.  
As I reached the throne I curtsied in front of Odin, and found my place on his right, next to Loki.  
 **"You don't look so bad yourself."** I said taking Loki's hand in mine.  
 **"That's true."**  
I bumped my hips into his and laughed under my breath.  
He squeezed my hand. **"But green is definitely your color."**  
A thunderous roar exploded from the room as Thor strutted down the aisle, his cape billowing behind him.  
 _He was quite the showman, no wonder he was going to be the king._  
Thor made eye contact with me and winked. I laughed and looked over to where Sif was standing on the left of Odin's throne. She was glaring daggers at me, as usual, jealousy pouring off her in waves.  
As Thor knelt before the throne in front of Odin, the crowd quieted down and Odin's scepter came down to the floor with a boom that echoed through the entire room.  
"Thor Odinson, my heir, my first-born,entrusted with the mighty hammer, Mjolnir. Forged in the heart of a dying star. It's power has no equal, a weapon to destroy, or as a tool to build. It is a fit companion for a King. I have defended Asgard, and the lives of the innocent across the Nine Realms, in the time of the Great Beginning. And now the day has come for a new King" Odin said, his voice echoing through the large room easily.  
No one spoke, no one moved, all were watching with full attention, except one person. Loki.  
I looked up into his face, and he wasn't looking at Thor or Odin, he was looking out the window to our left, looking out over Asgard.  
I squeezed his hand reassuringly, trying to make him feel better, trying to let him know it was okay that Thor was going to be king.  
"Thor, do you swear to to guard the Nine Realms?" Odin continued.  
"I swear!" Thor shouted enthusiastically.  
"Do you swear to preserve the peace?" Odin said louder.  
"I swear!" Thor yelled raising Mjolnir.  
"And do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition, and to pledge yourself only to the good of the realms?" Odin said holding out his scepter towards Thor.  
"I swear!" Thor said loudly standing up and raising Mjolnir.  
As soon as Thor uttered those words, a chill of dread ran through me.  
 _Something's wrong._  
Obsidian moved off of my head and worked it's way down into my hand, still just a chain, but growing warm against my hand.  
I let go of Loki's hand slowly. He looked away from the window, and made eye contact with me, worry flashing in his eyes.  
 **"Something's wrong."** I told him.  
"Then I on this day proclaim you..." Odin stopped mid-sentence, and I knew he felt it too.  
I shifted my armor onto me, my dress melting away. Obsidian lengthened in my hand becoming a wickedly sharp axe.  
 _I hoped it wasn't bilgesnipe._


	5. A Cold Place

I had never been down to the vaults before, and I wasn't looking forward to it. I followed behind Odin, Loki, and Thor silently, still gripping Obsidian tightly in my hand. Echo was padding silently behind me, the only sound coming from his nails scratching against the floor. When we arrived in the vault everything was frozen, and the vault itself was so cold that I could see my breath in front of my face. Echo moved forward and pressed his giant body against me, warmth radiating from under his fur. Odin walked forward to examine a giant blue box on a pedestal on the far wall of the room as Thor stooped low onto the ground examining the bodies of the fallen guards.  
Loki stood next to me un-moving. He had been acting really weird since the ceremony, not really saying anything.  
"The Jotuns must pay for what they've done!" Thor roared standing up, anger flashing in their eyes.  
"They have, with their lives." Odin said calmly, examining the square box glowing blue. "The Destroyer did it's work, the Casket is safe, and all is well."  
"All is well?" Thor shouted, Mjolnir started to spark to life, electricity humming in the air. "They broke into the Weapons Vault! If the Frost Giants had stolen even one of these relics..."  
"But they didn't." I said trying to soothe Thor's anger.  
He has always had a bad temper, as long as I have known him. Letting it all out now in front of Odin is not a good idea.  
Thor whirred to look at me.  
"I want to know why!" He said just as loudly.  
"We have a truce with Laufey." I shouted back, starting to get angry.  
Loki placed his hand in mine.  
 **"Cade, it's okay."** He hummed through my mind.  
"He just broke that truce!" Thor reasoned turning back to Odin. "They know we're vulnerable."  
Odin finally looked up from the casket and trained his eye on Thor. "What action would you take?" He asked him, still in a calm voice.  
I opened my mouth to speak, but Loki pulled me backward against his chest. **"Just let them talk it out. If Thor wants to make Odin mad then let him."** He said, wrapping his arms around my waist.  
I allowed Obsidian to shift back into a bracelet on my wrist.  
 _I really don't want to cut Loki. That might ruin the mood._  
"March into Jotunheim as you once did, teach them a lesson, break their spirits so they will never try to cross our borders ever again!" Thor said eagerly.  
"You are talking as a warrior." Odin replied taking a step towards Thor.  
Echo started shifting back and forth. He could sense a fight coming, and I could too.  
"But this was an act of war!" Thor shouted louder. He looked at me to try and get me to agree with him, but I said nothing. Loki squeezed me tighter against him.  
Worry was swirling inside of him, and something else, something he was shielding from me.  
"Loki, it will be all right." I murmured, pressing a kiss to the tip of his chin.  
"Their plan was doomed to fail. We will find the leak and seal it." Odin continued, still in a calm voice.  
"As the king of Asgard-" Thor began to say.  
"But you're not king!" Odin shouted, finally loosing his cool.  
A chill crept into the room, and Loki stiffened behind me, realizing what Odin had just said.  
"Not yet." Odin finished, a taunting smile on his face.  
Thor stormed away, electricity crackling in the room around us.  
Loki and I started to leave as well, but Odin stopped me.  
"Cadence could you stay here a moment?" Odin asked me, a stoic expression on his face.  
"Yes, my king." I said bowing my head. "Loki can you take Echo and go try to calm down Thor. Make sure he doesn't electrocute anyone please."  
Loki nodded slowly and began to walk away with Echo following close behind him.  
I turned back to look at Odin. He was no longer standing up straight, but was leaning against the pedestal holding the blue box.  
"Are you all right?" I took a step towards him, ready to help him to his feet.  
He nodded and waved me away. "At the moment, but I can feel the Odinsleep coming quickly."  
"Oh."  
"Cadence I just wanted to ask you to watch over Thor and Loki. You mean a great deal to both of them, and they listen to you. The pull to go into the Odinsleep is much stronger and I fear that I will not be able to guide them much longer. I need you to be the shoulder they can lean on Cadence, you have to promise me that." Odin said to me.  
"Yes of course. I will always be there for Thor and Loki. I promise." I responded immediately.  
He smiled and stood up straight.  
I slowly went up the stairs and went full speed to find Loki and Thor.  
*************************************************************************************************************************************************  
"This is madness, just madness!" I heard Frandral shout from a room ahead.  
I pushed open the doors suddenly. "What did I miss?" I shouted.  
Loki and Thor were standing by the back windows that where open showing the glory of Asgard. The sky was getting darker, almost to the point of rain, but it was probably Thor.  
The warriors three were clustered to the side, with Sif standing with them.  
"We're going to Jotunheim." Thor shouted merrily.  
"Nope, no way. Not after the discussion you just had with your father! There is no way we are going." I said.  
Sif turned around and stared coldly at me.  
 _We weren't even on Jotunheim and I was already having chills._  
"Would you look at that the little Valkyrie is scared!" She taunted me.  
"Sif, if you keep talking this little Valkyrie is going to rip your head off." I retorted, smiling sweetly.  
Echo let out a growl from where he was sitting next to Loki.  
Thor laughed at my threat.  
"Now my friends, let's not fight! I know that this journey may seem impossible, but I know it will be worth it." Thor said trying to inspire us.  
"Fine I will go, but only to make sure you don't do anything stupid." I said casually.  
Loki chuckled under his breath and stood up. Echo looks around the room, and sighed before getting to his feet.  
I guess he was coming too.  
We made our way down the rainbow bridge quickly, but we wouldn't be able to sneak past Heimdall. In his own words he could "see all", plus we needed him to open up the Bifrost.  
He was waiting for us, his speculation all over his face.  
"I got this," Loki whispered and took a step forward. "Good morrow Heim-"  
Heimdall cut him off abruptly, "I know you wish to go to Jotunheim, you are not dressed warmly enough."  
I pulled my dark cloak around me tighter.  
"Do you think that you can deceive me? Today of all days? Not one enemy has ever made it past my defenses, until this very day." He said in that calm voice of his. His golden eyes looked at us all coldly.  
"Then let us go to Jotunheim and figure out what happened for you." Thor interjected smoothly.  
Heimdall narrowed his eyes, but walked away from the entrance and onto the pedestal.  
"What happened, silver tongue turn to lead?" Volstagg jeered as he lumbered past Loki.  
"Volstagg don't be jealous that Loki is smoother than you. It isn't becoming." I teased him.  
He let out a booming laugh and walked to the swirling opening in the wall.  
"Are you sure about this?" I asked Loki.  
He placed one of his hands against my face and turned it towards him.  
"I promise I won't let anything happen to you Cade. Have I ever broken any of my promises to you?"   
I shook my head. His lips softly brushed mine, and I met them with mine just as eagerly.  
"Hey, love birds come on!" I heard Frandral yell.  
I pulled back and looked at everyone waiting for us. I focused on Thor and saw something cross over his face, but it was gone as soon as I saw it.  
As Heimdall opened the Bifrost, he shouted a warning, "I swore an oath to protect Asgard, and if letting you back endangers Asgard, I will leave you on Jotunheim to die in the cold."  
Echo growled in responce.  
"Heimdall you are just as positive as I remember." I shouted over the roar of the Bifrost.  
A twitch of a smile pulled at his lips.  
"Couldn't you just leave the Bifrost open for us?" Thor asked him.  
"To leave it open would unleash the full power of the Bifrost onto Jotunheim, destroying you and Jotunheim." He replied calmly.  
"I have no plans to die today." Thor announced a broad smile on his face.  
"None do." I murmured under my breath.  
Heimdall turned and looked at me. He opened his mouth to speak, but whatever he said next was lost as we were pulled into the Bifrost.  
**********************************************************************************************************************************************  
 _If you've never been to Jotunheim all you need to know is it's cold and it snows, and it all looks exactly the same. I have heard so many stories of Asgardians dying in the wilderness of Jotunheim because they had no idea where they were going. I had only been to Jotunheim once with Odin, the time that I got Echo, and that one time was enough. Last time I said I would never come back. Laufey was a creepy guy and the last time I was here, he offered Odin several hundred of his ice crystals, in exchange for me. A story that when I told Loki he laughed like a maniac and said I should have stayed with a frost giant, because they would make me happier than a normal Asgardian guy._  
We landed in the middle of a frozen plateau, the thunder of the Bifrost echoing around us, across the frozen terrain.  
"So which way?" I asked Thor. "Should we flip a coin?"  
"My gut says that way." Volstagg said, pointing out in front of us.  
"And that is never wrong!" Frandral teased, laughing.  
Sif rolled her eyes, just as saucy as usual.  
We set off towards the North, hoping that we were going the right way. A frozen palace, rose in front of us, sitting in ruin, no doubt from the last war.  
Laufey sat in the shadows of the ruined building, lounging in a frozen throne a sly smile on his lips.  
"You've come a long way to die Asgardians." Laufey challenged from his throne.  
My eyes crept to the edges of the ruins around us, noticing the frost giants hiding in the shadows.  
 _Well we are surrounded. Great._  
Echo growled, his hackles raising. His gaze was focused on the closet frost giant, his lips pulled into a snarl.  
He must remember what happened here.  
"I am Thor Odinson." Thor shouted, his voice echoing.  
"I know who you are boy." Laufey snapped. His gaze turned to me. "Have you come to accept my offer?" He said leering, his gaze racking over my body.  
Obsidian lengthened into a huge sword in my hand, almost the height and width I was. I raised it in a challenge for him to come closer to me, my lips pulling back into a snarl. "Come a little closer and I'll tell you." I threatened.   
Laufey chuckled. "I'll take that as a no then."  
Loki stepped in front of me protectively, a wicked smirk on his face.  
"We are not here to discuss that." Thor bellowed. He too shifted his stance to stand in front of me.  
"Unfortunately." I heard Sif murmur under her breath.  
 _Can I get one break? One small break?_  
"How did your people get into Asgard?" Thor said this, electricity began to hum in the air.  
Laufey was still leering at me, but he finally shifted his cold black eyes to look at Thor. "There are traitors in the house of Odin."  
Storm clouds began to form quickly above us, thunder rumbling across the sky. "Do not dishonor my father's house with your lies?" Thor bellowed angrily.  
"Your father is a murder and a thief. Why did you come here? To start a war? You crave it! You are only a boy pretending you are a man." Laufey spat standing to his feet.  
"This boy has grown tired of your mockery." Thor growled low.  
"Thor stop and think. Look around you we are out numbered." Loki whispered quickly in his ear.  
I leaned forward putting my free hand on Thor's shoulder.  
"Don't let Laufey get to you. He wants this war more than you do." I said trying to calm Thor down.  
He turned, his bright blue eyes finding mine.  
"Thor please. Let's go." I pleaded with him.  
He locked his jaw, but I knew he would stop.  
I breathed a sigh of relief.  
Loki turned to Laufey. " We appreciate you generosity." He said with a wave of his hand.  
He grabbed my hand and turned around walking back the way we had come, but as we walked back a frost giant stepped in front of us, blocking our path.  
"Cadence will stay. The rest of you are free to go." I heard Laufey say calmly, still standing.  
 _Shit._  
I turned to face him. "Why me?"  
"You are the last Valkyrie in existence, something that I wish to have at my disposal." He smiled at me, showing yellow teeth, and winked suggestively.  
 _Ew._ I fought the urge to throw up.  
"Unfortunately that is not going to happen." I whistled loudly and Echo lunged on the frost giant in front of us instantly tearing out his throat. The blue black blood of the giant splattered onto the snow.  
"Damn." Loki muttered under his breath drawing his knives.  
Frost giants exploded from all around us, crawling all over the snow.  
A wicked smile gleamed on Thor's face as he charged the hoard of frost giants rising from the ground like a swarm of bees.  
I charged in behind him swinging my sword at anything that moved. Echo flanked me, slashing with his claws and tearing at frost giants that dared to come near us.  
I heard Volstagg cry out in pain to my left. He was grasping his arm, that had turned blue from the cold.  
"Don't let em touch you!" He bellowed as he swung his axe into the nearest frost giant.  
 _Okay and they can't touch you. How did Laufey think this relationship was going to work?_  
A frost giant came out of the ground in front of and attempted to grab my leg. I swung my sword down and cut off his head clean off.  
I let Obsidian shift in my hand, becoming dual blades, letting me go hand to hand with a frost giant on the right.  
He laughed at me, probably thinking about my size no doubt.  
 _It's not my fault I'm short, but sure underestimate me._  
He swung his fist down into the ground, ice rose in sharp spikes and raced towards me. I rolled out of the way, my blades in my hands. I raced forward catapaulting myself off the ice, and driving my two knives into his back.  
He screamed in pain and tried to reach around himself to grab me, but I was too quick. I dug the knives in deeper, tearing through the front of his chest. I pulled with all my might, and severed the monster in two.  
 **"Loki, where are you?"** I thought desperately trying to find him in the chaos.  
I rose off the ground and flew in the direction I thought he had gone, looking through the mass of bodies for a flash of green.  
I found him.  
His arm was in the grasp of a frost giant, but Loki wasn't screaming in pain. His entire arm was becoming blue, almost like he was shifting. I had seen Loki shape shift before, but this was just odd. I landed beside him and drove my sword through the frost giant in front of him.  
"Loki are you alright?" I asked him, pulling his blue arm towards me, so that I could look at it. His wrist gauntlets had cracked and fallen off in the cold temperature of the giant's grasp.  
 _That's impossible, he should have lost his arm, but it was fine. It was actually turning back to it's usual color._  
"I think so." Loki whispered to me softly, still looking down at his arm. He looked me in the eye, fear flashing behind his.  
I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could I saw Frandral go down.  
"Loki we have to go now." I grabbed him and pulled him towards Frandral.  
Volstagg had him by one arm and Sif had him by the other.  
Echo materialized out of the shadows, his usual grey coat now spotted with black blood. He seemed happy, which was kind of unnerving.  
As we made our way towards the way we had come in, frost giants rose around us.  
"Do you ever give up?" I said angrily.  
Thor landed in front of us and slammed his hammer into the ground, successfully clearing the way.  
"Miss me?" He asked me, having way too much fun.  
"No." I said frowning.  
He rolled his eyes. "Come on."  
We ran over the frozen terrain, with the entire frost giant army on our heels.  
 _Heimdall is definitely not going to open the Bifrost._  
Loki was by my side, silently gliding next to me, not talking.  
When we reached the cliff, Thor cried out for Heimdall, but nothing happened.  
"Okay, new plan. Not dying!" I shouted and raised Obsidian in front of me, and turning to face the hoard behind us.  
 _That is a lot of frost giants._  
Thor stood beside me, his hammer raised in a challenge.  
"I like that plan." Sif said holding out her sword as well.  
 _Wow the first nice thing she has ever said to me, right before we die._  
Laufey was leading his giants right towards us.  
"Well, Cadence if you had stayed I would have spared your friends, but now I guess not." He teased with a gleam in his eyes.  
"I'd rather die with them, than ever be with you." I snarled.  
Anger flashed in Laufey's face, and as he lunged forward a brilliant beam of light cut through the darkness of Jotunheim. Odin appeared in armor of gleaming gold upon a giant black horse.  
"Yes father! We will finish them together!" Thor shouted a crazy smile on his face.  
 _Really?_  
"Silence!" Odin bellowed, a murderous look on his face.  
"Allfather, you look weary." Laufey taunted.  
"Laufey, end this now." Odin said ignoring Laufey's jeer.  
"Your boy sought this out, and now there is only war."  
"Then look at these actions as a boy being foolish." Odin continued.  
"They have shed blood. We are beyond diplomacy now." Laufey cocked his head to the side, finding me behind Odin. "But if you are willing to acknowledge our deal, maybe I would make an exception."  
A chill went through me, and fought the urge to throw up, again.  
Loki placed his hand in mine, trying to comfort my nerves.  
"No." Odin said flatly.  
"Then your boy will have what he wanted, war." Laufey snarled.  
"So be it." Odin challenged.  
As Laufey and his men charged forward, Heimdall took us back to Asgard swiftly.


	6. Looks Can Be Decieving

"Get him to the healing room now!" Odin roared at Volstagg and Sif as soon as we landed. I turned to follow them, but Odin grabbed me by the arm roughly holding me in the room. "No you stay!"  
I swallowed the lump in my throat and stood tall waiting for the oncoming storm.  
"Why did you bring us back?" Thor demanded, not backing down from Odin.  
"Do you realized what you've done?" Odin shouted still not releasing my arm, holding it so tightly I could feel a bruise forming.  
"I was just trying to protect our home." Thor shouted back. He was still grasping his hammer tightly in his hand.  
"You can't even protect your friends, how do you expect to protect the kingdom." Odin replied loudly. He shoved me towards Thor for emphasis. "Laufey was going to take Cadence. You went to Jotunheim to fight and you brought the one thing he wants the most!"  
"I wasn't going to let him have her father. I would never let anything happen to her." Thor said. He looked at me, and took a deep breath, his eyes softening. "Cadence I wouldn't have let him have you."  
I nodded slowly. Echo came up next to me and pressed himself into my side. Loki still hadn't said anything, but he was hovering on the other side of me silently watching the drama unfold.  
"But we cannot be afraid to act! The Jotuns needed to pay for what they did." Thor continued looking back at his father. "They need to fear me like they once feared you!"  
"That is not leadership, that is vanity. You have forgotten everything about what I taught you, about a warriors patience." Odin responded angrily.  
"You can wait with patience while Asgard falls. All the other realms laugh at us, while you sit on the throne and wait! The old ways are done, and you stand there giving speeches and lectures to me while Asgard falls!" Thor shouted, his voice echoing around the expanse of the room.  
"YOU ARE A VAIN CRUEL GREEDY BOY!" Odin roared thrusting his scepter out towards Thor.  
Thor took a step forward challenging his father. "AND YOU ARE AN OLD MAN AND A FOOL!"  
Odin shook his head, and an uncomfortable silence settled on the room.  
"You're right. I was a fool, a fool to believe that you were ready to be king." Odin murmured.  
A chill settled right in the pit of my stomach.  
"Father." Loki said softly taking a few steps towards Odin, but Odin cut him off with a shout and a wave of his hand.  
The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I knew something was wrong.  
"Thor Odinson, you have betrayed the commandments of your king. Through your arrogance and stupidity you have opened these realms and innocent lives to the horror and desolation of war!" Odin raised his scepter in front of him and threw it down into the pedestal opening the Bifrost. He lunged forward and began ripping apart Thor's armor. "You are unworthy of these realms and unworthy of your title! You are unworthy of the loved ones you have betrayed!"  
No.  
I took a step forward towards Thor, tears forming in my eyes. Loki grabbed me and held me back against him.  
"Odin please. It's my fault don't blame him for this! I could have stopped him, but I didn't." I shouted struggling against Loki's grip.  
Odin ignored me, stepping up slowly to the pedestal.  
I made eye contact with Thor. His usual bright blue eyes, were stormy gray.  
"I now take from you your power." Odin pulled Mjolnir from Thor's hand. "In the name of my father, and his father, and his father, I Odin you father, CAST YOU OUT!" he shouted as a bolt of lightning shot forward slamming into his chest and pushing Thor into the Bifrost bridge.  
"NO!" I shouted struggling harder against Loki's arms. "No!"  
**"Cadence, you need to gain control of yourself, and remember your place."** Loki said coldly through my mind.  
_He never did that. He never snapped at me that way._  
Odin raised Mjolnir to his lips and whispered, "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." He threw the hammer into the swirling Bifrost.  
I took in a shaky breath.  
Odin turned slowly to us. "Loki leave us!" He shouted.  
Loki slowly let go of me and stalked down the rainbow bridge, with Echo following slowly behind him.  
Odin's eye was on me, anger flashing across his face.  
"I'm so disappointed in you Cade. After I told you to watch Thor and Loki you do this? I took you into my palace and practically raised you and this is how you repay me?" He yelled, his face turning red.  
I looked down at the ground, not trusting myself to speak.  
"I should have sent you too." He snarled as he stomped away towards the palace.  
My breath caught.  
_I swore I would never go back to Midgard. Not ever, not after what happened there. I feared for Thor. He was going to be swarmed by people, would he be burned at the stake also. What would happen to my oldest friend._  
******************************************************************************************************************************************  
The fire crackled loudly in front of Sif and me as we lounged on the leather couch. Volstagg was still nursing his partially frozen arm, Hogan was helping him apply a salve that was supposed to be helping him. Frandral sat to our left holding a cup tightly in his hand, while Loki hovered behind us.  
"We should never have let Thor go to Jotunheim!" Volstagg said angrily.  
"You know there was no stopping him. Once he makes up his mind he always has to do it." I replied softly staring into the flames.  
"Well rather be banished than dead, which is what we would be if that guard hadn't said anything." Frandral mused.  
"How did the guard find out anyway?" Sif asked. She was unnaturally stiff in her seated position and I knew it was because she missed Thor.  
We all did.  
"I told him." Loki murmured from his position behind us.  
Every single head turned to look at him.  
"What?" Frandral said his eyes blazing.  
"I told him to go to Odin after we'd left. He should have been flogged for taking so long, we never should have reached Jotunheim." He said cooly.  
_Well this is new._  
"You told the guard?" I asked him calmly.  
"Yes. I saved our lives. Especially yours Cade, you saw the way Laufey was looking at you. If Odin hadn't showed up well-" He stopped abruptly not wanting to finish his sentence. He swallowed and continued. "I had no idea that father would banish Thor."  
Sif rose quickly from the couch. " You must go to the Allfather and ask him to bring Thor back."  
"I love Thor more dearly than any of you, but you see how he is. He's arrogant and reckless and dangerous. You saw how he was today! Is that what Asgard needs from it's king?" Loki spat.  
He began to walk from the room swiftly.  
"Loki wait." I said rising from the couch.  
"Cadence just leave me alone!" He yelled, not turning to look at me.  
I stopped in shock.  
_Loki never did that. He never lost his temper with me, he never yelled at me like that. What was going on?_  
"Oh must be trouble in paradise." Sif taunted me.  
I lunged forward and grabbed her raising her off the ground with one hand.  
"Sif I swear to you, if you throw one more rude comment in my face, I will decapitate you and give your body to Echo so he can use it as a chew toy." I spat angrily.  
She gasped for air against my hand, and I lowered her slowly to the floor.  
I took a few breaths. Murderous rage blazed in her eyes, but she did not attack me. She walked stiffly to the couch and sat down.  
"I don't care about what Loki says, he has always been jealous of Thor." Frandral said quietly trying to turn the conversation around.  
"We should be grateful to him, he saved our lives." Volstagg argued.  
"Laufey said, 'there are traitors in the house of Odin.' A master of magic could bring 3 Jotuns into Asgard." Hogan whispered to the fire.  
"Loki wouldn't do that. Sure he's jealous of Thor, but even he has his limits." I argued.  
_But maybe I knew they were right, deep down something felt wrong. Maybe Loki did this._  
******************************************************************************************************************************************  
I teleported back to my room, and took a shower. Letting the warm water rinse everything away. It was supposed to be a good day, but it turned bad so fast. When I was done I heard a scratching at the door, and crossed the room to let Echo in, he crouched to jump on the bed.  
"Oh hell no!" I shouted grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. "There is no way you are getting in that bed with frost giant blood all over you."  
He gave me a sheepish look and I walked him into the bathroom to clean him off. After 20 minutes of trying to dry his fur I gave up and flopped on my bed. I didn't want to go to Loki's room. Not after the way he brushed me off.  
Echo curled up in a ball next to me, but didn't close his eyes. He wouldn't go to sleep unless he knew I was asleep.  
I sighed and closed my eyes, unsure of what dreams would assail my unconscious mind.  
****************************************************************************************************************************************  
After a nightmare filled sleep of Thor being killed on Midgard I woke up. Echo was still curled into a ball at my side, snoring soundly. I hugged my knees to my chest and looked out the window. It was late in the day, I guess my body had really needed the sleep after yesterday.  
I heard a knock at my door, low and soft. I sighed loudly and rose from my bed forcing myself to open the door. Loki stood there a wide frown on his face.  
"What?" I snapped my hand still on the door knob.  
"Cade can I come in?" He said ignoring my tone.  
"Fine." I replied rolling my eyes.  
He walked into the room a few feet then stopped.  
"What do you want Loki?" I said crossing my hands in front of my chest.  
"My father has fallen into the Odinsleep." He said plainly.  
I uncrossed my arms. "What? Is he okay?"  
"Which he did after he told me that I'm a frost giant." Loki said pursing his lips.  
Shock ran through me.  
"What?" I stuttered.  
"Aparently I'm Laufey's son. Isn't it wonderful. And we have the same taste in women." He spat at me.  
"Laufey's son?"  
"Yes. When Odin went to Jotunheim to destroy the frost giants he brought me back. I had been left to die in the cold by my real father. Cold bastard just like me." Loki snarled, his hands curled into fists.  
"Loki don't compare yourself to him. Just because you are his son doesn't mean you are anything like him. Frigga and Odin raised you and that makes you their son." I replied, my head still spinning. I took a step towards him and grabbed his hands in mine.  
He ripped his hands away from me. "And of course he told me after I got to watch you cry over Thor being sent to Midgard!" He shouted. "You know I always knew you liked him better. I knew that you would choose him. The first day we met I thought 'hey she hasn't met my gorgeous blond warrior brother yet maybe I have a chance and even though we have been together this long you still like him more." Anger flashed in his eyes.  
"Loki that's not true. You know I love you. Thor is just my friend, he always has been." I reasoned with him.  
He sighed heavily, and pursed his lips, not wanting to look at me.  
"Loki listen to me." I moved forward and placed my hand on the side of his face. "I don't care what species or race you are. I love you more than this entire universe. So please don't be afraid that I will push you away, because I won't ever do that."  
His green eyes blazed into mine, not breaking contact with me.  
He sighed. "I'm sorry." He murmured, looking away.  
I turned his face back to look at me.  
"It's okay. I love you." I said smiling at him.  
A small smile crossed his face. "I love you too."  
And then he was kissing me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me to him.  
"I missed you last night." He murmured against my lips.  
"I missed you too." I whispered.  
But even after all this, something tugged at the back of my mind.  
A chill crept through me, warning me that something big was in store. Something that would change everything.


	7. The Big Rescue

It had been a week, a week of nightmares of Thor's demise, a week of waiting for word about him, and a week of Loki sitting on the throne of Asgard.  
I was pacing in my room, driven mad by the visions of death I saw every night. I knew what I had to do.  
_I love Loki, more than anything, but Thor is still my friend, and leaving him to die in a merciless realm is not something I would do. He would come to help me, so I'm going to go get him._  
I started to walk to my door, having my armor shift onto my body smoothly. Echo rose to accompany me.  
"No Echo. You stay here. If something happened to me, I wouldn't want them to kill you too." I whispered patting him on the head. He whined softly, and pressed his head against my hand.  
"I know boy. I love you too. Watch out for Loki while I'm gone okay." I walked out of the room, letting Echo out behind me. As I walked down the hallway I heard Frandral yelling at Volstagg.  
"How have you managed to eat so much with what has been going on?" Frandral's voice echoed down the long corridor leading me right into the room.  
"Stop fighting, both of you! It's not going to help Thor!" Sif shouted coming up between them.  
"She's right. It's not going to help Thor." I said from the doorway.  
They all turned to look at me.  
"That's why I'm sick of waiting around. I'm going to go get him back." I said confidently.  
"But you hate Midgard." Hogan responded a skeptical look on his face.  
"Yes I do, but Thor is my friend, and he would do the same for me." I placed my hand on the hilt of Obsidian that was strapped to my waist  
"But that's treason!" Frandral exclaimed.  
I shrugged. "It may be treason, but I don't care."  
"But what about Loki?" Sif asked, a frown on her face.  
I bit my lip.  
_This was going against everything. I hated Midgard, hated what it's people had done to my family and me, but I would go to save Thor. I love Loki more than anything, and if he loved me he would understand._  
"I'm going to Midgard no matter what. You can either come with me or stay here and moap." I challenged as I turned around and walked down the winding corridor.  
It was a few moments before I heard them in step behind me. I smiled to myself.  
_Maybe this wouldn't be so bad._  
As we neared the Bifrost, Heimdall was waiting for us, standing in the large open doorway.  
"Let me guess. You saw us coming?" I teased him, not slowing down my stride.  
He remained stoic in the doorway.  
"I cannot commend or help you in anyway." He replied and pushed past us down the rainbow bridge.  
"He's really odd isn't he?" Frandral muttered.  
I turned and looked towards the Bifrost. Heimdall has left his sword in the pedestal and the portal began to open spewing color.  
"Let's do this." I shouted and flew forward into the open portal.  
My mind was lost in a swirl of color, but bit by bit Midgard formed in front of us. My stomach flip flopped at the thought of going back.  
_Cadence it will be okay. Don't think about the past, it is different now, you'll see._  
My feet hit the ground hard, depositing me onto rocky terrain. I took a few steps to get my bearings, traveling by Bifrost kinda messes with your head a little.  
_Okay hopefully nobody tries to kill us while we are here. I honestly can't say the same for when we get back to Asgard._  
I swallowed my nerves and turned to look at my comrades, who were looking around and trying to find their bearings.  
I looked east and saw in the distance a cluster of buildings rising up out of the ground.  
"I saw we go that way." I announced as I began to walk towards the small town.  
"How do you know?" Sif snarked from behind me.  
"I don't, but Heimdall has never steered me wrong, so I'm going to go into the creepy little town nearest to us." I replied coolly, and continued to walk towards the small town.  
When we finally arrived the sun was directly over our heads, beating down on us.  
This was the wrong place to wear full armor. It was so hot, so much hotter than where I used to live on Midguard.  
Weird mechanical machines passed by us as we walked slowly down the dirt street. They would make roaring noises as they passed and sharp noises whenever we would get in front of them.  
This was not the Midgard I knew.  
I was still waiting for the mass of people with pitchforks and torches to assail us from behind. I wished Loki could have been here with us. I hated leaving him on Asgard, if only things were different.  
We were all walking in a line down the mostly empty street. I couldn't help, but look at everything around me.  
_I hadn't been to Midgard in 318 years, how could it have changed this much._  
People stared at us as we walked and I placed my hand on Obsidian nervously.  
"How do we even know that Thor is here?" Hogan questioned.  
"I've got a really good feeling about this place." I replied as I scanned the buildings around us.  
Finally we arrived at the end of the street, and in front of us a large glass building dominated the space. Through the glass doors I saw Thor, talking to a petite brunette woman.  
"There he is." Sif exclaimed excitedly.  
She was the first to knock on the glass door. Everyone waved happily, glad to see Thor.  
The look on Thor's face was priceless, and the looks that the other people in the room gave us were just as funny. Thor opened the door, and pulled Volstagg into a manly hug.  
The petite woman that Thor had been talking to dropped a plate, but as I fell I caught it telekinetically and stepped forward grabbing it in my hand.  
"Here you go." I said gently. Shock flashed on her face, which only made me smile wider.  
"Cadence, I can't believe you came!" Thor said happily pulling me into a bear hug.  
"Thor, can't breathe." I choked out.  
He must have really missed me.  
"Oh, right." He whispered pulling away, a goofy smile on his face. "Did you really come here for me?"  
I nodded slowly, suddenly aware that everyone was watching us.  
"I'm glad to hear it. It's about time you came back to Midgard. I'm glad you came." He said smiling wider.  
I blushed deeply. "Anything for my best friend."  
"I'm glad all of you could come." He said brightly, looking up into the faces of our comrades. He turned to the petite brown woman next to him, clutching the plate in her hand tightly. "This is Jane Foster, and this is Darcy Lewis. Erik Selvig is the man behind you Volstagg." Thor said calmly pointing them out.  
I nodded my head at each of them, still not comfortable with talking to them.  
"We came to take you home Thor." Sif said, but her eyes were on the hand Thor placed on my shoulder.  
"I'm honored that you came, but I can't go home." He responded in a daze.  
"Wait, what do you mean you can't come home?" Frandral said taken aback.  
"You know I can't. My father is dead because of me. I must remain in exile." Thor responded sadly. He removed his hand from my shoulder and turned away from us.  
We all exchanged confused looks.  
"Thor." I said sweetly, putting one hand on his shoulder and turning him around to face me. "Your father is still alive."  
Confusion washed over Thor's face.  
"But Loki said-" The ground shook with the force of an earthquake cutting off his reply.  
I turned around and looked in the direction we had come, just in time to see a massive light shoot back up into the sky.  
"Shit." I muttered.  
I turned back to Thor. "Wait Loki told you that Odin was dead?"  
Thor nodded solemnly.  
_Oh boy._  
"Then that means whatever just landed is here to keep us here. Wonderful." I muttered. I pulled Obsidian from my belt, letting it lengthen into an axe.  
The people in the room gasped, watching my weapon with awe.  
"That is so awesome, way better than my taser!" Darcy exclaimed stepping forward to examine it. "Can I hold it?" She asked me brightly.  
"Well, no." I responded calmly.  
Her face fell.  
"I would let you, but Obsidian has a mind of it's own. It only lets me wield it." I continued gently. "See look." I tossed the axe at Sif.  
Sif caught it easily, but as soon as Obsidian touched her hand it dropped to the ground pulling her down with it. Sif struggled to lift it up.  
I called Obsidian back into my hand, feeling stronger with it.  
A large explosion shook the glass in the building around us.  
"We have to get everyone out of here!" Thor yelled running outside.  
We all followed him and tried to clear out the townspeople quickly, but I knew that whatever or whoever Loki sent would be on us soon.  
Finally I saw it, rising up out of the distance.  
_Oh great he sent The Destroyer. This should be fun._  
The Destroyer took steps that shook the ground beneath our feet, it's metal body glinting in the sunlight.  
I was back with Thor and his new friends behind a metal machine that Thor called a car, watching The Destroyer approach. I took a step forward, but Thor fastened his hand on my arm.  
"Thor what are you doing?" I asked him, my eyes meeting his.  
"Let the others handle this Cade." He muttered.  
"I'm a warrior too, I should be out there helping them." I angrily whispered back.  
"Loki sent that thing because he is angry. If you go out there and face The Destroyer he will only get angrier." Thor retorted.  
I could see how much sitting back and watching was hurting him. Thor was feeling bad because he believed that he wasn't the same person he used to be.  
I turned to look at our comrades.  
"For Asgard!" Volstagg yelled loudly as he charged the behemoth.  
Volstagg was struck in the head and flew backwards into a building. Frandral and Hogan were knocked away, by a concussive blast that made my ears ring. Finally Sif charged forward, driving her spear into The Destroyer's open back, she confidently glared at me.  
As she looked over at me The Destroyer's head began to turn around, finally lining up with her. It fired a blast directly at her that knocked her away against a car. She slumped forward and lay still.  
The Destroyer's face began to glow red, and as he fired the next blast at Sif, I reached out and shielded her telekinetically blocking her from the deadly attack.  
The blast ricocheted into The Destroyer and it stumbled back a few feet.  
"Stay here." Thor ordered me, standing up.  
I grabbed his arm and pulled him down to me. "Thor no! You are mortal now, if you do this, you will be killed. Let me face Loki." I pleaded with him.  
He brushed a stray hair from my face tenderly, his hand lingered on my cheek. "Cadence I have to do this, it's the only way to keep you safe." He whispered to me, pulling my arm from his grasp. He stepped forward out into The Destroyer's line of vision.  
"Brother... for whatever I have done to wrong you, whatever I have done to lead you to do this, I am sorry, But these people have done nothing to you. They are innocents." Thor said holding his hands out in surrender. "End my life now, and know that I will never return to Asgard."  
"NO!" I screamed and ran in between Thor and The Destroyer.  
"Loki please, don't do this. This is your brother. Thor who taught you how to shave when you were young because Odin was too busy, Thor who taught you how to fight, when Odin said you wouldn't be a warrior. If you are going to be mad at anyone be mad at me. Don't punish Thor for your father's mistakes. Blame me. " I swallowed. My heart was beating so hard it hurt. "And if you really love me, you won't do this."  
There was a moment of silence. I could hear birds chirping in the distance, echoing off the buildings. The Destroyer turned away, and I relaxed, but in a split second he flashed around and shot a white hot bolt of energy into me.  
The pain stung like a thousand needles, and I was suddenly aware that I wasn't on the ground. I was flying through the air swiftly, not knowing my destination. The brick wall was hard against the back of my head, and all I saw was darkness.


End file.
